The Secret of the Crystals
by Peach the Hedgehog
Summary: Christy never expected her life to change so drastically. Mysteriously changed into a Ham-Ham, she meets and befriends Hamtaro and his friends. But why was she transformed? Does it have to do with the eight Ham-Star Crystals?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Hamtaro.

**AN: I looked over Hamtaro: Search of the Ham-Star Crystals, and realized it could be much better. So, I have decided to redo it. Thanks goes to Awesome Rapidash for helping me!**

The sky was blanketed with clouds and it was cool and slightly windy. It looked like it was going to rain soon, because it just looked so gloomy. Even the squirrels and other animals were getting inside to stay out of the incoming storm.

Laura was in her room with two other girls, her best friend Kana and a new girl who moved in half a year ago named Christy. Of course Hamtaro was here too, and Kana brought over her hamster, Oxnard. Christy didn't have a hamster, but she did want one of her own. However, her mother only wanted to get fish, so she wouldn't be able to get a hamster for a pet.

Christy sighed a little bit, as though the upcoming weather was somehow affecting her mood. Laura gazed at the girl curiously. "Is something wrong?" she asked, carefully putting her hands through her short brown hair, trying to avoid her yellow hairclips.

"I was wondering the same thing," Kana agreed, turning her gaze to the blonde haired girl, and holding her glasses. "You've been acting like this since lunch."

Oxnard looked over at Hamtaro, holding a sunflower seed closer to him. "She's been like this since lunch?" he asked his friend, though the girls couldn't understand him. "Maybe the food didn't taste good?"

"I don't know, Oxy," Hamtaro admitted softly.

Christy looked at her two friends and couldn't help sighing again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm just worrying about next week's math test. You know math isn't my best subject."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Laura asked with a smile.

"Yeah, we can help you study for it," the brown haired girl with the glasses offered.

The blonde haired girl smiled a little. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course, we're your friends after all!" Laura said her smile widening.

Christy returned her friend's smile, her chocolate brown eyes shimmering with happiness. "Thanks. That really makes me feel better." She was about to continue when she saw that Hamtaro had walked up to her. She lowered her hands to allow the orange and white hamster to jump in her palm.

"Aw! Hamtaro is so cute!" the blonde gushed happily.

Hamtaro seemed to return the smile as he rubbed his face with his paws saying "Kushi-Kushi." Oxnard walked up to her too, and Christy added, "You're cute too, Oxnard."

The girls giggled and spent the rest of the time talking and laughing and playing with the hamsters. As it was getting closer to five o'clock however, the slight taps of raindrops could be heard on the rooftop and tapping on the windows.

Christy looked over to the window, seeing the raindrops falling to the ground. "It's starting to get wet out there," she murmured slowly. "I better get home just in case it decides to pour since I don't have an umbrella with me!"

"I'm sure dad wouldn't mind driving you home," Laura piped up. "I'll go and ask him." The girl with hair clips got up to head downstairs.

"Do you want to study some time tomorrow?" Kana asked the other girl curiously.

Christy thought about it for a second and nodded her head. "Yeah, tomorrow is a good idea. I might be able to make it some time in the afternoon."

Not long after the blonde said that, Laura returned to tell her friend that she had a ride home. Christy thanked the brown haired girl happily and then told her what she and Kana said they were going to do about studying.

With a smile, Christy headed to the door. "Bye! I'll see you tomorrow! And thanks again!"

* * *

Rue listened to the rain outside while he smoothed his red robe with his paw. He started to pace the wooden floor of the tree fortress, not knowing what was going to happen now. But whatever happened, he knew that he had to be strong.

He gazed out of the cell for a moment, which didn't look out of the ordinary. But he knew better than that. If it was so simple, he could have walked out at any moment. An invisible barrier protected the door, which would not allow him to leave, and it would give him a nasty shock if he even attempted to do so. And he didn't need his white fur to stand on end at the moment.

The white hamster blamed himself for not being strong enough to defeat the ham-ham that lived in this fortress. If only he had the power to stop him. But compared to the owner of this fort, Rue's powers did not match up. If he wasn't alone, he might have been okay. But now, he was trapped.

Even then, Rue made a difficult decision since he came here. Just in case the evil hamster found out that he knew something and caught him, he wouldn't tell him what it was he needed to know. He'd simply refused it! There was no way he was going to let that wicked hamster have his way!

Movement from outside the cell caught Rue's attention and he turned, his eyes narrowing at who he saw. A hamster covered in gray fur and wore black robes stood just outside. "Valen."

Valen looked at his prisoner with his crimson eyes. "Are we feeling cooperative today?"

"I told you the last time! I'm not going to tell you anything!" Rue insisted, crossing his paws.

The gray hamster smirked at the other ham. "Oh, really, you might reconsider when you see who I brought with me today." He reached out and pulled another hamster into view. It was a female hamster with white fur and gray spots on her ears and forehead. She clad a green robe. She gazed at Rue sadly causing him to gasp.

"K… Kururu!"

"I… I'm sorry, brother," the girl ham said softly. "I tried to run away when he came to capture me. But, I…"

"Are you sure you want to stay silent?" Valen suddenly asked. "Because I could very well hurt your sister if you do not tell me!"

A defeated look filled Rue's eyes. Even despite his earlier resolve, there was no way he was just going to stand there and let Kururu be harmed in any way. He loved his sister too much to do something like that! "Fine…"

Kururu lowered her head sadly as Valen laughed evilly. "Now that is more like it. Now then, you know the human girl I need yes? Tell me about her and where she currently lives."

Rue shook his head at first, wishing he didn't have to respond. But with Kururu's life on the line, he knew he didn't have a choice right now. He closed his eyes for a moment, seeing the girl that he saw in a vision some time ago. She was a girl who had short blonde hair and brown eyes and was petite. He apologized to the girl, and opened his mouth to tell Valen what he needed to know.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Hamtaro.

"Christy! It's time to get up!"

Christy groaned softly when she heard her mother's voice from outside of her room, her body covered completely in her light blue blanket. It was the start of the weekend, and she just wanted a few more minutes of sleep. But knowing that her mother would most likely check on her in a few minutes, she reached up to the blanket to try and push it away.

To her surprise however, she couldn't get it to move very far. In some way, it almost seemed too heavy for her to move on her own. Yet, how could that be? Nervousness began to wash over her as she twisted and turned until she was on her belly. She carefully started to crawl, inching her way slowly, to the other side. Finally, after what felt like a long time, she poked her head out.

She blinked her eyes a few times trying to get them used to light, as she finally pulled her way from under the covers. Christy was about to ask what was going on, but trailed off as she looked around the room. Her brown eyes widened in surprise with what she saw.

The bed that she was sitting on seemed much bigger than it did the night before. Even some of her stuffed animals, that she liked to sleep with, seemed bigger than usual. In fact everything seemed much bigger in size, from the dresser on the other side of the room to the picture of her father that she had over her bed.

"Either everything got bigger… or I got smaller," Christy murmured, looking around worriedly. Then a wave of panic washed over her as she began to slowly realize something. Going on her stomach again, she crawled herself over to the edge of the bed, and looked down.

She immediately wished that she didn't do that, as the fear within her increased. She was so high up now! She quickly pushed herself away, unable to stop herself from shivering.

"I'm just dreaming," Christy said to herself, trying to calm her nerves. "All I have to do is pinch myself, and then I will wake up." She was about to reach over to pinch her arm when a look of alarm filled her face. Instead of seeing her hand, she found that it looked like a paw!

Looking at herself as best she could, she found that her body was completely covered in fur, and that her hands and feet were paws! Before, she was just nervous. Then she did start to panic a bit. But now, she was really afraid. Just what was going on here?

"Christy?" The door to her room opened, and her mother stepped inside. Christy couldn't help a small gasp. Even her mother was a giant compared to her size!

After a moment of looking around, the brown haired woman turned toward her daughter's bed. She paused a moment, before walking in her direction, looking directly at Christy.

"Mom, it's me!" Christy cried, hoping that her mother could understand her.

However, the look in her blue eyes showed confusion. "A hamster? What are you doing here?"

"Hamster?" Christy questioned looking around. When she didn't see anyone else on her bed, she slowly realized that her mother was talking about her! And her mother would know what a hamster would look like, since Laura and Kana had brought their hamsters over a few times.

Reaching down, the woman scooped Christy into her hands and carried her outside of her room. _"Where is she taking me?"_ Christy thought to herself. She soon got her answer as her mother walked to the front door of the house and opened it. Before she could stop the woman, she was gently placed on the front step.

"Mom, it's me!" Christy cried out again, waving her paws.

The woman didn't say anything before she turned and closed the door! Christy tried to run back inside, but slipped on her paws, and she fell forward. By now, she was wishing this really was some dream, and she would wake up from it at any moment. But it didn't look like she would be so lucky.

She pushed herself back on her paws, and slowly moved forward. Even though she could walk on two feet, it just felt so awkward. Christy closed her eyes as she climbed down the front step. Nearby, she saw a puddle from the storm yesterday.

With a gulp, she slowly moved toward it, so she could get a better look at her reflection. What stared back at her was a scared hamster, with brown fur on her ears and top of her head, and with white fur on the rest of her face and her stomach. If she could have seen the back, she would have seen that the brown fur stopped at the middle of her back.

Sadness crept into her, as she realized her mother had kicked her out, mostly because she didn't know that the hamster had been her daughter. Tears filled her eyes as she faced the outside world, not knowing what would happen to her now.

* * *

Laura was on the couch in the living room, with her pet hamster, Hamtaro, nearby. It sounded like it was going to be a much better day than it was yesterday, and thought that maybe after they studied, they could go out somewhere. She was sure that Kana would agree to it, and figured it would also be good for Christy, since she didn't get out much.

Hamtaro just sat with a smile on his face. Every once and a while, he rubbed his face carefully, saying 'Kushi-Kushi' as he did.

Just then, the phone on the table rang. "I'll get it!" Laura called hoping her parents could hear her. She jumped up from the couch and walked toward the phone. She picked up the receiver and put it to her ear.

"Hello, Haruna residence."

"Laura, is that you?" asked a worried sounding voice on the other end.

Laura nodded, even though she knew the caller couldn't see it. "Yes, it is. Is something wrong, Mrs. Anderson?"

"You could say that," the woman answered softly. "Is Christy over at your place?"

"No, she isn't," Laura answered honestly. "She was supposed to come to study for next week's math test, but she said she probably wouldn't get here until this afternoon."

A soft sigh filled the brunette's ear. "I see," Mrs. Anderson murmured. "I already called Kana, and she told me something similar. I went to wake her this morning, but she wasn't in her room at all."

"You mean, Christy is missing?" Laura asked, a look of worry filling her face.

A look of concern suddenly washed over Hamtaro's face. While he couldn't hear the whole conversation, he did get the gist of it. Christy was not at her home, and was obviously not here. Laura even asked if the blonde was missing! _"I think I'll ask Oxnard on the way to the Clubhouse today,"_ the Ham-Ham thought.

* * *

Christy looked around herself, scared but at the same time amazed. She never knew what it was like for a hamster until now. Even the blades of grass seemed taller than they were when she was a human. She had walked for a long time, but she couldn't tell what time of the day it was. She had made it to a grassy area, with trees around her. The sun's rays peeked by the branches, and in the clearings, since this didn't seem like a forested path.

"_What am I going to do?"_ Christy thought to herself. _"I can't go back home looking like a hamster. And mom is probably worried sick as it is."_ She suddenly paused in her steps, as it occurred to her that her mother was not the only one who would worry about her. She was certain her mother would call her friends, Laura and Kana, to see if she was at their houses. She was sure the girls would worry about her too!

Unable to think clearly, she started to run, but she had only recently gotten used to walking. Not long after she started, she tripped over her paws, and fell to the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked a girl's voice in concern.

"Ookwee?" questioned a younger sounding voice.

Christy looked up from where she had fallen and saw two hamsters in front of her. At first she was startled that she could understand them. But then it made sense because she was a hamster now. One of the hamsters had blonde and white fur, and she was wearing a pink scarf. A smaller hamster stood next to her. The new hamster assumed that the little one was a hamster as well, considering the brown ears that poked out of the top. She assumed the yellow thing that was covering her was some kind of blanket.

Christy wasn't exactly sure what to say at first. But when the hamster wearing the pink scarf extended her paw, Christy accepted it, and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"Ookwee?" the little hamster suddenly asked.

"Penelope wants to know if you are okay," the other hamster said, as though she was able to translate that word the little one used.

"Yeah," Christy finally answered with a nod of her head. She wasn't injured, so in that way, she was fine. She was still really nervous about this whole thing though.

"That's good," the blonde hamster said in relief. "We saw you trip and fall, and we were wondering if there was something wrong. I'm Pashmina, and this is Penelope."

"Nice to meet you," the brown and white hamster replied, hoping she sounded polite. "My name is Christy."

A smile filled Pashmina's face. "Well, isn't that a coincidence! We know a human girl by that name, don't we Penelope?"

"Ookwee, ookyuu!" Penelope answered.

Christy couldn't help a look of surprise in her brown eyes. "You do?" she questioned.

"Sure do," Pashmina said with a nod of her head. Noticing the look in the girl's eyes, she titled her head. "Are you sure you are okay, Christy? You seem shocked all of a sudden."

"I have my reasons," Christy answered, rubbing her paws together nervously.

"Is it some kind of secret?" Pashmina asked. "You can tell me if it is. I won't tell anyone, not even Hamtaro, or my other friends!"

"Did you say, Hamtaro?" questioned a startled brown and white hamster. When the hamster with the pink scarf nodded her head, Christy couldn't help but wonder. How is it that Pashmina knew of her? And how did she know Hamtaro? She had a hunch on something, and thought it would be better if she told her troubles to Hamtaro, and any other hamster that happened to be nearby.

"Can you take me to meet him?" she finally asked.

"Sure," Pashmina agreed nodding her head. "If it will help you feel better. We're meeting at the Clubhouse. Come on!"

* * *

Hamtaro stood before his fellow Ham-Hams in the Clubhouse. Pashmina and Penelope were not here yet, but that was okay as they were sure they would be here pretty soon. Hamtaro stood before his friends; Bijou, Boss and Oxnard. Snoozer was sleeping nearby in his pink and yellow spotted sock, as usual. Oxnard already knew of the problem, since they talked on the way.

"Guys, I have bad news. Christy is missing!"

"Christy is missing?" a chorus of voices questioned. Not just from in front of him, but also from behind. Hamtaro turned and noticed that Pashmina and Penelope had arrived, along with a new brown and white Ham-Ham that he hadn't seen before.

"Heke?" Hamtaro questioned as he walked over to the new hamster.

"Everyone, this is Christy," Pashmina introduced. "Penelope and I met her on the way here. She just happens to have the same name."

"Um…" For a moment, Christy looked nervously around the group. She looked at both Hamtaro and Oxnard, and then finally asked. "About this girl, you said she is missing?"

"Yeah, seems she went missing, since her mother called Laura, and she didn't know where she was," Hamtaro answered softly.

Oxnard shook his head, clutching a sunflower seed in his paws. "And Kana hasn't seen her either."

Boss crossed his paws and closed his eyes. "This is serious," he finally said. "She probably ran away from home, like Laura did that one time."

"No, I didn't!" Christy cried, unable to help herself. She suddenly noticed that everyone in the room was looking at her when she made that sudden outburst.

Now that there was silence, she found herself looking at everyone. Hamtaro had the same orange and white coloring that she had seen on him before, while Oxnard had white fur with gray spots. She didn't know everyone else though. The one who had spoken was wearing a yellow hard hat and he had a nick in his left ear. His fur was mostly beige, but was dark brown near his foot paws. There was also a girl hamster with all white fur wearing blue ribbons that made pigtails. She didn't really notice the other one.

"Why do you say that?" Hamtaro questioned.

"Well, um…" For a moment, Christy didn't know what to say, but finally decided she had to. But with the way everyone was staring, it made her really nervous. "The truth is… I'm Christy. And I'm referring to the girl you say is missing."

The response she got was something she expected. "WHAT?"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Hamtaro.

**AN: A friend of mine has been having trouble of late. So, I have decided to dedicate my story to her! This is for DollieMay 18.  
**

Christy gazed at all of the surprised hamsters. She wasn't sure what she should have said, but she knew that there was no turning back now. She took in a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves a bit.

"I'm Christy," she repeated. "I am… or rather was, a human girl!" As she looked among the group, she realized that all of them were giving her a look of disbelief. She didn't know if it would work, but decided she had to explain herself a little more. Maybe doing so would prove something.

"I moved into town half a year ago, and befriended Laura and Kana. Both of them have hamsters. Laura has Hamtaro and Kana has Oxnard." As she spoke, she pointed to the two in question. "I was also going to go to Laura's house today to study with my friends for next week's math test."

Hamtaro couldn't help a small gasp. "I do remember hearing about that! Maybe she really is Christy!"

Boss crossed his paws over his chest again as he stepped closer to Christy. "I don't know," he murmured. "If she really is her, then why is some of her fur brown?"

Christy guessed as to why the other hamster would question something like that, so she nodded her head. "Well, it might have to do with the fact that my original hair color is brown. See, I dyed my hair…"

"You died your hair!" the other Ham-Hams questioned in unison, looking even more shocked than they did before. In fact, they had horrified looks on their faces.

"Not like that!" Christy cried holding up her paws. "I didn't 'die' my hair, like I killed it. I used hair dye to change the color of my hair from brown to blonde."

"Is it permanent?" Oxnard asked.

The new hamster shook her head. "No, you have to keep using the dye as your hair grows out. Though, I was getting tired of having to do it."

Hamtaro looked to his fellow hamsters. "Can you believe this?" he questioned.

Bijou shook her head in reply. "I've never heard anything like it," the snow white hamster remarked.

"Maybe it wasn't such a coincidence at all, huh Penelope?" Pashmina asked the younger ham beside her.

"Ookwee?" Penelope added in a confused tone.

Christy listened to the others talking around her. She didn't know if they believed her, but she figured that it was a good thing to get off of her chest anyway. She took in another deep breath. "Anyway, I didn't run away. I just woke up this morning like this. My mom didn't recognizing me, and took me outside! I knew she wouldn't let me back in so I left. Then at one point, when I realized how worried everyone would be, I panicked and started to run."

"And that was when we found you," Pashmina remarked. "I was with Penelope and we saw you trip and fall."

The brown and white hamster nodded. "Yeah, then as we talked, you mentioned Hamtaro. I recognized the name as Laura's hamster, so I figured maybe I could talk to him about this whole thing."

"And that is why you are here?" Oxnard asked her.

Christy nodded her head as she said, "Yes, that's right, Oxnard."

"Well, I've never heard of this before," Boss replied. "And you say you didn't run away. I was sure you did, like Laura."

Now it was Christy's turn to cross her paws, as she looked deep in thought. "Laura ran away? Hm… I do remember her telling me there was one time she ran out of the house mad, just because she didn't get some CD player she asked for. I know she had gotten a bad grade, and that was why she didn't get it. But she didn't really plan on running away."

Hamtaro turned his gaze toward her. "So, you mean she didn't leave to join the circus?"

"Join the circus?" the brown and white hamster repeated with a tilt of her head. "No, of course not, what gave you that idea?" Christy watched as the other Ham-Hams turned their gaze on Boss. She also looked in his direction and shook her head. "You were the one to say she ran away to join the circus?"

"Well, yeah," the older hamster said without missing a beat.

At this point, Christy wondered what Boss truly knew about humans, as well as the world as a whole. Not that she couldn't say it was impossible for a kid to want to run away and join the circus, she just didn't find that whole idea to be rather likely.

"What do you know anyway?" Boss suddenly questioned.

Christy found herself saying, "Probably more than you." She didn't intend it to sound mean or anything, but it was clear to see, from the beige hamster narrowing his eyes, didn't take it the right way.

"Oh yeah?" At this point, the conversation ended up switching from whether Christy was really a human, or whether her story was good enough. Boss started to question Christy on some the things he thought were facts, but the girl found herself correcting what he was saying.

"What about an orange? Don't you think the sun gets stuck in the tree and becomes an orange?"

The brown and white hamster shook her head. "No I don't. The sun is too far away. Oranges grow on orange trees. That's all there is to it. The sun does not get stuck in the trees. If it did, well, we wouldn't have a sun after it is eaten."

This went back and forth for a little while, and it was easy to see that Boss was becoming annoyed. Hamtaro rushed forward to get in between the two. "Come on, you guys! We don't need to argue!"

Realizing what had happened, Christy nodded her head. "Yeah, sorry about that," she said apologetically.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry too," Boss agreed, but he still didn't look happy.

Pashmina walked over to the nearby table, and noticed some sunflower seeds on top. She picked up a few and walked over to Christy, offering them to the brown and white hamster. "Are you hungry?"

Christy nodded and accepted one of the seeds. But she found herself looking at it rather funny, as though she didn't know what she was supposed to do. "How do you eat these things?" she questioned suddenly. She felt a little silly asking a question like that, but since she didn't know how, that didn't help her.

The other hamsters, seeing Christy's confusion, showed her how to eat the seed by using her teeth to break open the shell, and then eating the inside. For the newly turned Ham-Ham, this was difficult at first, but once she got it down, it wasn't too hard and she was able to eat the delicious seeds.

A sigh escaped Christy's lips, as she looked down. "If only I knew what was going on…"

"A human girl… turning into a Ham-Ham…" murmured a sleepy sounding voice.

Christy gasped when she heard that and looked for the source of the voice. "Who said that?" she questioned.

"That's Snoozer," Boss introduced as he and the other Ham-Hams walked up to him, sleeping on the floor in his sock.

Christy found herself walking over to Snoozer. "Do you know what happened?"

"Old legends say… of a girl turning into a Ham-Ham… zuzuzu," Snoozer replied sleepily.

"So you do know something!" Christy found herself kneeling down beside him. "Please, if you can tell me anything more…"

Unfortunately, the only thing to hit her ears after that was a light 'zuzuzu' sound. The brown and white hamster sighed softly. She had hoped to find a lead to her condition, and perhaps how to reverse the process. But, she didn't get much. All she got was that there was an old legend that spoke of a human girl turning into a Ham-Ham.

"Now what?" She pushed herself to her paws and looked at the others. "I really don't have a place that I can go to, right now."

Bijou gave the new hamster a reassuring smile. "Maybe you could stay in the Clubhouse. That would be okay, wouldn't it Boss?" she asked as she looked toward the beige hamster.

Christy watched as Boss' cheeks turned red. "B… B… Bijou… Of course she can stay!"

"_Even after I annoyed him… maybe it has to do with the fact he likes Bijou? He is blushing after all,"_ the brown and white hamster thought.

"But," he suddenly added, looking in Christy's direction. "You sleep on the other side of the Clubhouse."

Christy made a face, but she didn't make a comment. She didn't want to annoy him any further than she already had. She figured she may as well agree without a fuss.

* * *

Pashmina smiled as she walked back home with Penelope. Everyone else had left the Clubhouse already, except for Boss, Snoozer and Christy. After all the panic had subsided, everyone believed Christy's story. Mostly because of Snoozer, since he mentioned some legend, which backed up her earlier words. After that, they played a little, to try to make Christy feel a little better. Still, she and Boss did get off on the wrong paw, so to speak.

The blonde and white hamster looked up to the sky. It was much clearer than it was the day before, and the sun was only just beginning to set, making pretty colors of orange and pink. She figured that she could easily get back home before June noticed, just like Penelope would get back before Kylie knew she was gone. It was a basic routine that they went through. Well, except one thing wasn't exactly so routine.

"Wow, it's hard to believe, huh Penelope, that a human could be turned into a Ham-Ham!"

"Ookwee! Ookwee, ookyoo!" Penelope responded.

"I'm sure Laura and the others are worried about Christy," Pashmina added as her smile wilted to a frown. "Hm… I wonder if there is a way we can let everyone know she is okay."

Penelope looked confused for a moment, before she shook her head and said in a sad tone, "Ookwee."

The blonde hamster sighed. "Yeah, I can't think of anything either. Maybe we can talk about it with everyone else tomorrow. We all promised to come back, after all."

"Ookwee!" Penelope agreed, jumping into the air.

Pashmina smiled at the younger hamster and decided it was time to get back home. But little did they know that someone was watching them. And this figure had heard the whole thing.

Finally, the time had come.


End file.
